Apprentice

Food for thought:

In his book Sacrilege, Hugh Halter admonishes us to no longer use the word "discipleship". He says we should change it to "apprenticeship".

"Apprenticeship is not about morality, church attendance or sticking up for God. It's not about getting hired or fired by Donald Trump either. And as good as these things can actually be if done for the right reasons, it won't matter if you have a "quiet time" or are committed to a small group. It isn't important what denomination you're connected to or what translation of the Bible you like. It's not about giving money, being nice, avoiding alcohol, not cussing, or how long your daily prayer list might be. It's not about your end-times theology, whether or not you believe in a second baptism, or whether your pastor preaches exegetically or topically.

Biblical apprenticeship is about is about three things:
1. becoming just like Jesus
2. doing what Jesus did, and
3. doing the above with the types of people Jesus liked spending time with."

...Although none of these are easy, they are definite milestones. If you were able to say "I do that" to each of these, do you think you'd be worthy of the title "Christian"?

Do people know who you are?

When people find that you're a Christian, are they surprised? Can they tell by your words and deeds that you have found joy in your life or do you follow the "I'm a Christian so I can't have fun" stereotype? Do you spend all your time thinking of the things you cannot do?
The happiest people on earth ought to be those of us in God's service. And we ought to look like it. We have every reason to smile more than anyone else. Even though our work is terribly serious, we ought to have more fun and have a better time doing it than anybody. Why would we not enjoy life? For whom do we live it? 

 

Those who look as if they've just finished their last piece of bread do not minister very effectively. We really don't need to spend all our time on the negatives of life; there are enough heart-breaking experiences to go around for all of us. Who wants to follow a God who is perceived to be standing over us hand on His hip, shaking His finger? If God does not want us to be happy creatures, why would He have provided us with food, drink, books, music, friends and all the beauty in the world? On top of all the wonderful things to be found in our world He also offers us the opportunity to be in communion with Him? One on one. We can't allow ourselves to get so wrapped up in daily life that we forget the gifts.

I don't mean to sound like life is always easy if you're a Christian...we do not have an easy calling. God holds us to a higher standard but He is also a loving guide who is always there to help us through the hard times and offer us joy, His joy. What more could we want?

Angels

Somewhere I heard a story about Michelangelo pushing a huge piece of rock down a street. A curious neighbor sitting lazily on the porch of his house called to him and inquired why he labored so over an old piece of stone. 

Michelangelo is reported to have answered, "Because there is an angel in that rock that wants to come out." 

Every person has the task of releasing angels by shaping and transfiguring the raw materials that lie about [us].... 

How we do this...is determined by the discovery and the use of our gifts.

Measuring by Jesus

....Over one hundred years ago, a well-respected teacher of ethics said that there are basically two ways to determine moral obligation. One way calculates the kind of end desired by action. The other way stresses the value of those receiving our action. The first emphasizes subjective prerogative and our ability to determine outcomes. The second emphasizes the objective worth of others. These two are not automatically in conflict, but when a desire for outcomes uses others, something is wrong.

 ...Let’s face it, few outside the church care if our respective denominations live or die, and I don’t blame them. Time and again my friends (many non-Christian) tell me that they could care less about fashionable attempts to attract them. If anything, they want Christians to be – well, Christian. By that they mean loving in the way that Jesus taught. I work with some hardboiled characters, and they tell me that the only thing that gets their attention is a life well lived. They admire unceremoniously compelling people. They say that such examples challenge and invite them into a more meaningful life. The last thing these friends respond to is one more “brand” concerned about its survival. They know when they are valued because of their intrinsic worth and when they are being considered targets of some organizational agenda.

Read the rest of the article, here...

Happy Holidays!

This is the time of year we begin to hear Christians whine and moan about the secularization of Christmas. And while I know it can be frustrating to see a season that is so important to us reduced to Frosty and Santa and tinsel, is it really worth getting all upset about it? 

Will the fact that "we" put up signs saying "Keep Christ in Christmas" turn one unbeliever to Christ? Even though it may sometimes seem that society is depriving this holy day of all it's meaning, what do you think Christ's response would be? Would He want us shouting down those who have added other traditions?

After all, other faiths have holy days that fall within this time frame too. Is the holiday exclusively ours? If we say "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas", are we not simply acknowledging that there are others in our world living out their faith?

If someone writes "Merry X-mas!" do you truly think it's wrong? Our Bible was translated from Greek, wasn't it? The Greek letter "Chi" was often used in ancient times as an abbreviation for Christ..."Chi" is written as an  Χχ...X-mas takes on a different meaning when you know that, doesn't it?

Many non-believers feel led to "give" to charity during this time of year. Isn't that the Spirit working within them? And if their generosity makes them feel better during the Christmas Season, might they start carrying it on throughout the year? Couldn't it possibly lead them to seek Christ? 

Isn't modeling Christ-like behavior the best way for us to keep Christ in Christmas? 

If you are disturbed by all the parties, and decorations and the way too many gifts you feel you need to purchase, isn't there a better way to assuage this uneasiness? Instead of spending time decorating every square inch of your home, what if you worked at a local soup kitchen? Instead of spending hours at the local mall (with all those secular expressions posted around), what if you volunteered to work with the sick and elderly at a nursing home? Instead of grumbling while you purchase a scarf for your Great Aunt Tessie, why not find a way to practice compassion and purchase gifts for the children of a needy family?

Rather than spending this season fretting about the way society celebrates it, why not spend that time serving more, worshipping more, being with family more? If we let this mountain shrink back down to the mole hill it really is, we may just find our celebration of this most holy time becomes just that...more holy.

Explaining what some believe is unexplainable...

Although these 3 paragraphs come at the end of the article...I would suggest reading the whole thing. An interesting take on explaining Christianity to the Atheist...

And this, finally, is the answer Christianity gives to suffering. Since Christ became all sin, and suffering is the result of sin, Christ took upon himself all suffering. Since his act was for all earthly time, this includes our current suffering. If this is true, no suffering is apart from the suffering of Christ. All is his. I am a Christian because I can acknowledge the reality that my suffering is in fact the suffering of Christ, and thereby “offer it up” with him, giving it meaning and the most glorious of purposes: The end of all suffering.

As Paul says: “Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.” Our suffering, because it is Christ’s, saves the world.

This changes everything: To see the child with leukemia is to see Christ suffering in that child, suffering to bring the world back to Perfection. To experience agony is to cry out with the strain of lifting this fallen world to Paradise. We are called to recognize this, and to actualize this. This is why I am a Christian.

Equipping Parents

 Spiritual formation begins in the home.  Well, that’s at least according to the way Susannah Wesley raised her children.  I believe that many of our U.M. Churches have relinquished this responsibility in equipping, encouraging and preparing parents to intentionally pass on spirituality and the language of the Christian faith to their children.  That’s not to say that there aren’t some churches have done a phenomenal job at equipping parents to pass on the faith, however, not enough leaders in the church are taking this very important responsibility seriously.

The article quoted above is called  Equipping Parents,  but I would propose that the title should include "and the Church". It should be an important read for each and every member of a congregation.

To make it easier, here is the link to the Spiritual Generativity Essay noted.

The work by Kendra Creasy Dean referenced in this article is "Almost Christian: What the Faith of our Teenagers is Telling the American Church". I have a copy of this book if anyone in the congregation would like to read it.

Christian

If I profess to be a Christian, what then am I called to do?

Run outside and scream to the world, look at me, I'm a Christian?
Go to church each and every time the doors are open, just because they're open?
Spend hour upon hour praying and making sure that everyone sees me?
Or at least hears about it?
Give money hand over fist but then only on the condition that it be used the way I see fit?

or should I...

obey the commandments?
read and study the Word of God in search of truth?
love God with all my heart, mind and soul and others more than myself?
become like a child and seek to become totally dependent upon God?

In the first set of questions, I am actively "doing" what the world expects me to do...and my only accomplishment will be to get in God's way.

In the second set of questions I am passively doing what God wants me to do all the while preparing me, myself and I to do what God directs me to...with the side benefit of clearing out the clutter so I can recognize His direction when it comes.

I don't always get it right. More often than I'd like to admit, I find I've been following the wrong set of questions. But the longer I practice the second set, the quicker I get back on the right track and the more I see His Hand in my life.

God has all the answers we'll ever need, can resolve any issue that gets us off track and can soothe any pain we feel...we have only to recognize we're not in charge, He is.

Lest we forget...

One Bread One Body
One bread, one body, One Lord of all,
One cup of blessing which we bless.
And we, though many, throughout the earth,
We are one body in this one Lord.

Gentile or Jew, Servant or free,
Woman or man, No more.

One bread, one body, One Lord of all,
One cup of blessing which we bless.
And we, though many, throughout the earth,
We are one body in this one Lord.

Many the gifts, Many the works,
One in the Lord, Of all.

One bread, one body, One Lord of all,
One cup of blessing which we bless.
And we, though many, throughout the earth,
We are one body in this one Lord.

Grain for the fields, Scattered and grown,
Gathered to one, For all.

One bread, one body, One Lord of all,
One cup of blessing which we bless.
And we, though many, throughout the earth,
We are one body in this one Lord.